WCU chancellor, wife pledge $1.23M to student scholarships

Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher and wife Susan Brummell Belcher have pledged $1.23 million in gifts for the university’s ongoing efforts to provide increasing scholarship support to help deserving students in their pursuit of higher education.(Photo11: Courtesy photo/Ashley T.Evans)

CULLOWHEE – Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher and wife Susan Brummell Belcher have pledged $1.23 million in gifts for the university’s ongoing efforts to provide increasing scholarship support to help deserving students in their pursuit of higher education.

Claire Lemke, a senior from Gastonia majoring in music who is among the recipients of WCU scholarships established by the Belchers, announced the pledge, which takes the form of a blend of cash donations and an estate gift. The announcement comes as the university is on the verge of rolling out the public phase of its Lead the Way comprehensive fundraising campaign, which will focus on scholarships.

“While I was one of the first recipients of a scholarship supported by the Belchers, I will be only one of hundreds to come,” said Lemke, speaking Thursday at an annual luncheon to recognize donors to WCU scholarship funds.

“Today, Chancellor David O. Belcher and his wife, Susan Brummell Belcher, are announcing a $1.23 million commitment in cash and estate gifts to WCU’s Lead the Way campaign. ... This is the kind of transformational gift that will have lasting impact for generations to come,” said Lemke, the inaugural recipient of the Susan Brummell Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts Endowed Scholarship.

Belcher said he and his wife decided to direct their philanthropic gifts toward scholarships because students represent their shared passion. “Susan and I are here because of students. Students were why Susan and I took the leap to join Western Carolina University six-and-a-half years ago to change lives. They are our reason for being. They are our joy,” he said.

“This is worthy work, and our students deserve no less,” he told the nearly 200 donors and scholarship recipients gathered for the event in the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center. “Western Carolina University is in the business of changing lives. And with your dedication, and your passion, and your commitment to our university, and your financial support for our students, there is no telling what we will do.”

Susan Belcher echoed the chancellor’s comments, noting that she and her husband frequently discuss the need to support the university’s students.

“These are not just David’s sentiments he articulates in speeches. These are our core values. We talk about the fact that higher education is the stuff of the American Dream. We talk about the fact that cost is a barrier for too many qualified students,” she said. “This is simply unacceptable, and we must address it. It is imperative for the success of our students and our communities.”

During his installation address in March 2012, Belcher announced that increasing the number of endowed scholarships would be the No. 1 philanthropic priority of his administration. More than 200 new endowed scholarships have been established since then, he said, calling the response “gratifying and inspiring,” but characterizing it as “only a good start, a good beginning.”